-5- Good luck

"How did you know?" 

Silco was finally surprised. He looked at the alchemist in the white coat not far away and then turned to Linwin, asking in a cold but calm tone, "The Shimmer has not been tested on humans, but it does indeed have the side effects you mentioned... This should be confidential."

Due to his cybernetic eye, Silco could only squint one eye when he narrowed his eyes.

He looked at Linwin, his tone a bit cold but still composed, "Have you been observing me all along?"

"I'm not that bored to observe you," Linwin responded disdainfully. "Silco, do you really think so highly of yourself?"

Silco remained silent.

"Don't play games with me, Silco. You're strong and wealthy, and your presence has seriously impacted Vander's position. I haven't killed you just because of Vander. After all, he still cares about the past. He drove you out of the Undercity, forbidding you from entering for life. That's the punishment for what you've done. But... Silco, I actually quite admire you."

Linwin spoke to Silco, and this was the truth. He did genuinely admire Silco.

Silco was not a hero; he hadn't even appeared in the League of Legends universe. However, he was the first person Linwin started to pay attention to, even though he wasn't initially in Linwin's focus.

This world wasn't in Linwin's sphere of interest, but Silco slowly caught his attention.

Silco was not a hero, but he was a dangerous individual. He could potentially overturn Zaun at any moment, causing a disturbance. Linwin had to keep an eye on him.

After all...the gap between the Undercity and the Upper City was something Linwin understood very well.

The memories of his previous life told Linwin that in this world, both Zaun and Piltover were just insignificant. There were far more powerful entities.

For example...the big nations.

And then...the gods.

After being in this world for half a year, Linwin had already made a power ranking in his mind.

In this ranking, if you added up Piltover and Zaun, it would only account for one entry. 

Linwin himself was also at the lowest level.

Runeterra...just being in Runeterra, there were already so many formidable creatures.

Linwin felt like he was here to pay off some debt. His favorite position and role in the game was mid lane, and he loved ganking the baron lane.

Now, the guys in the baron lane were monsters one after another.

In Linwin's power ranking, the most powerful existence, without a doubt, was the Star Forger, Aurelion Sol.

That was a being with a mind and strength not proportional and now trapped by the Aspects of Targon.

The Star Forger was naturally a being of the TO tier.

In the T1 tier, Linwin believed it should be true gods like Bard.

T2 would be something like the Aspect of Targon.

T3 would be demi-gods and ascended beings like Darkin.

T4 would be high-level magic humans and mutated magical creatures.

T5 would be human champions.

Heroes Linwin had encountered, such as Vi, Powder, little Ekko, and the guy next to Silco, belonged to the T5 category, mostly wandering in the middle ranks.

"Then why don't you..." Silco tentatively began.

"Don't recruit me. I admire you, but don't get too comfortable with it." Linwin furrowed his brow and said.

This guy, Silco, always tried to bring him into his fold after witnessing his strength. But Linwin wouldn't willingly walk into danger.

Especially considering the current power disparity between Piltover and Zaun, Zaun might not even catch that woman's eye if things got noisy.

Silco remained silent.

There was really no way to deal with Linwin right now. Otherwise, why would he speak and try to recruit Linwin?

"In any case, you're better off listening to me," Linwin thought for a moment and decided to tell Silco.

Seeing Silco not speaking, not bothering with Linwin, and closing his eyes as if to dismiss him, Linwin spoke again, "Friendly tip, how about I tell you a secret about Piltover?"

"Oh?" Silco opened his eyes and looked at Linwin.

"Who is the master of Piltover?" 

Silco furrowed his brow, the elegant demeanor disappearing. He looked at Linwin, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The councilman?"

Seeing Linwin about to burst into laughter, Silco immediately added, "It's the major families behind the councilman."

Linwin didn't deny it, looking at Silco, he asked seriously, "So your answer is that the major families collectively control Piltover?"

"Isn't that the case? Piltover is splendidly known as the City of Progress, but as you and I both know, it's all an illusion. In reality, over ninety percent of the resources in the true City of Progress are monopolized by the major families. Even the lower-level apprentices, no matter how talented, as long as they're not born into a major family, they end up signing slave contracts with them to seek employment."

"A city like this, can it still be called an enlightened city of progressive order?"

Silco sneered, "Ridiculous, a shameful form of progress."

"Valid points, but what you've said isn't entirely accurate."

Linwin nodded. Silco, being at the bottom of Zaun, could see the current situation of Piltover. This indicated that he was different from Vander.

The reason Vander was able to make peace now wasn't because of his intelligence; he was a brute, wanting to lead the people of Zaun to a better future as a gang leader.

But behind the scenes, he grew afraid and didn't want to see the people of Zaun going to their deaths.

On the day of the ashes, many people from Zaun died, including Powder's and Vi's parents.

And it also affected the upper echelons, the enforcers, on that day.

"So, tell me, where did I said something wrong?" Silco asked.

"One thing."

Linwin looked at Silco and calmly said, "There's one thing you got wrong."

"Piltover, as a city-state, doesn't have a centralized government. The ones controlling the city are indeed the families you mentioned."

Silco listened, tilted his head, and smirked, thinking, "Isn't that exactly what I said? In that case, where did I go wrong?"

"But, Silco, the one and only place you were mistaken is that Piltover isn't controlled by various major families, but by a single family," Linwin extended a finger, raised it, and looked calmly at Silco. "It's the Ferros family."

"The family that discovered the origin crystal?" Silco furrowed his brow.

"The origin crystal?" Linwin paused, then smiled. 

Ah, I see... at this point in time, Jayce is probably still playing with his little hammer. I remember from the background story that Jayce invented Hextech crystal using the crystals he excavated from the Ferros family and refined it further, leading to the development of Hextech technology. But at this current time, Vi is only around thirteen or fourteen, and Jinx is just a little girl little less than ten.

Because of this, Jayce should still be an apprentice, not the one who developed Hextech technology—the Defender of Tomorrow.

However, saying it like this, Linwin wasn't entirely sure of his guess due to the habit of Riot Games of frequently changing lore, the fuzzy timeline of the story, and the tendency of Riot to eat their own lore.

For instance, in the original lore, Ekko was an orphan and nearly got sent off to the topside to become an elite, right? But now, that little guy has become a character similar to Linwin, working in a grocery store.

"You mean, the actual controller of Piltover is the Ferros family?" Silco was a bit incredulous.

"Don't spread this around, or you might end up moving your head somewhere else. I'm not taking the blame for that," Linwin waved his hand. "She'll help you move your head, for free and efficiently."

////This 'she' probably referring to Camille////

Silco's mouth twitched.

Because he realized that Linwin wasn't joking with him.

He was serious.

If... if it was as Linwin said, then what were the current apparent wealthiest people of Piltover, the designated policy makers in Piltover, and the various major families hidden behind them?

Silco suddenly felt a chill on his neck.

If what Linwin said was true, Piltover wasn't fragmented. Having an actual controller made Piltover even harder to deal with.

A powerful loose alliance isn't terrifying for Silco, but if these factions followed commands, it would be truly frightening.

"Alright, my friendly advice ends here."

Linwin stood up, patted his backside, but then suddenly thought of something. He grinned at Silco, "Oh right, Silco, I've improved quite a bit recently. Would you like to see?"

Silco tilted his head slightly, not quite understanding Linwin's intent.

But Linwin knew well. People like Silco should never be allowed to have hope, not even a glimmer. Otherwise, if they saw a crack, they would strive to widen it until they achieved their goals.

But what if... there were no cracks from the beginning?

The difference between smart people and regular ones lies in them not wasting efforts. Silco was a clever man.

Under his robe, Linwin extended his slender fingers and then clenched them into a fist.

He wanted Silco to know the difference between their strengths. This way, he would remain obedient and listen to Linwin, lurking quietly in his corner.

He took a deep breath and exhaled a long, lingering sigh. Linwin clenched his teeth, feeling the warm breath escaping his lips and teeth. Then, as fast as lightning, Linwin struck a four-meter diameter circular support pillar in front of him.

A massive wave of air lifted his robe and blew towards the surroundings. Silco, standing not far away, instinctively raised his hand to shield his face.

In front of Linwin, the punch-like gust of wind shattered the pillar, pulverizing countless small stones within a two-meter radius as it shattered the stone pillar. Linwin felt some of his stamina deplete, but in front of him, the pillar was shattered. 

A two-meter-sized rock was flung out and slammed into the factory wall at an extremely fast speed, creating a huge depression in the metal wall.

Ability: Relentless Force (★★)

Effect: Consumes stamina, swinging a fist to deal area damage equal to twice the strength to the front.

"Silco!"

"Do you think you can withstand this punch, fifteen years in the making?"

Linwin looked at Silco, coldly asking him.

Silco's mouth and eye corners twitched. His hands trembled slightly, but he tried to calm himself, adjusting his suit's tie. He spoke, "Are you... still a human?"

Humans were impossible to deliver an attack like this using just physical strength.

Absolutely impossible!

Linwin turned around, putting on his hat, walking towards the factory's exit.

But he left behind a sentence.

For Silco.

"Silco, I agree with your ideals. Foolish tolerance only widens the gap between Piltover and Zaun. But you are wrong, so much more wrong than Vander."

Linwin looked at Silco coldly, continuing, 

"You think you can make the people of Piltover submit, fear, using those drugs? You're greatly mistaken!"

"The current leader of the Ferros family will be stronger than me, not weaker."

"So, good luck."

---

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////The below is the original author note, kinda important so I'll translate it too////

I'm worried that everyone might habitually not read what the author says, so I'm placing it here. This part is really, really important!

Well, it's about Camille.

Firstly, Jayce didn't invent the Hextech heart for the steel shadow(Camille) nor did he invent the Hextech crystal. It was the Ferros family imitating the Shuriman (the crystal vanguards) to manufacture it - after all, there were only so many Shurimans, and there were so many Hextech gems in all of Piltover, so why slaughter the Shurimans?

And Canille's heart, on the other hand, is the actual original core, later researched and installed by her first love. Therefore, I believe Camille, in the first six episodes of Arcane in Piltover, should be between 70-80 years old. She is a genuine old lady, not a problem even to be Jayce's grandmother.

After all, as everyone has seen, the development speed of Hextech technology is very fast. In the series, just a few years have passed, and Powder is at most fifteen or sixteen years old, but Hextech has already developed incredible "magic" technology like teleportation.

As for Camille killing her brother and becoming the mastermind happened after the between Jayce and Viktor. This storyline should unfold in the next season of Arcane. By the time she captures Jhin in the future, she'll be over ninety years old, close to a hundred.

In short... I checked a lot of information, and it should be correct. So if you have any questions or feel something is off, dear readers, you can say it in the comment section, and I'll check. I'll correct it if there are any mistakes.